U.S. Navy Plans to Remove Salvage Platforms From USS Arizona's Hull

The U.S. Navy is preparing to remove two salvage platforms that were welded onto the wreck of the USS Arizona in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attacks. The rusting platforms are part of Arizona's history, but they are deteriorating, and one has already partially collapsed.

USS Arizona is a symbol of the sacrifices that American servicemembers made in the Second World War. On December 7, 1941, the battleship came under intense attack by Japanese bombers; the fourth bomb that hit the deck detonated Arizona's forward powder magazines, tearing apart the bow and sinking the ship at her berth.

Today, the USS Arizona Memorial honors the 1,177 crewmen who died in the attack. More than two million people come to pay their respects every year, and every sitting president has visited the site since the memorial's installation.

The two platforms that can be seen above the water at the memorial site were not part of the battleship when it was sunk; they were only attached to the ship to help salvors remove Arizona’s main guns and other equipment for the war effort. Workboats would tie up to the platforms to support dive operations and to carry away much-needed materials salvaged from the wreck. Three gun barrels from USS Arizona were later relined and fitted aboard USS Nevada, which used them against Japanese positions on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

In October 2023, one of the aging salvage platforms partially collapsed, prompting the Navy to assess their condition. It became apparent that the platforms now pose a risk to the sunken battleship, and must be removed for purposes of preservation and environmental protection. From the Navy's perspective, the removal signals the completion of the heroic salvage operation that began in 1942.

This week, U.S. Navy salvors plan to start the work of placing containment buoys and anchors in the waters surrounding the memorial site, a preparatory step for the removal of the two mooring platforms. As the work proceeds, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and local officials are closely involved to ensure that the project fully respects the ship’s historic importance and its sacred status.